Huntington Debuts Digital Credit Line Standby Cash

Huntington Bank has rolled out Standby Cash to allow customers to access new lines of credit, according to a press release.

Customers can enroll online for the digital-only program and will have immediate access to between $100 and $1,000, which can be transferred into their Huntington checking accounts, the release stated. There are no fees or interest if customers sign up to pay the money back over three months with automatic payments. If not, there is a 1 percent monthly interest charge and 12 percent annual percentage rate (APR).

The qualification for Standby Cash will come down to how customers manage their checking accounts rather than on customer credit reports, according to the release.

Standby Cash is intended to help customers in need of an emergency supply of cash. It will also work for long-term financial health and let customers get past the short-term financial stress of the pandemic, according to the release.

“Our customers’ evolving needs inspire us to create and deliver new, innovative products,” said Huntington CEO Steve Steinour in the release. “Rooted in our purpose of looking out for people and furthering our commitment to ‘Fair Play Banking,’ Standby Cash is just the latest product in our digital toolbox to make banking easier and better.”

Merchants have long used interchange savings in order to offer customers rewards, which more directly line up with the merchant as the customer shops. The rewards have to be as good or better as what the customers already get, and customers don’t always want to opt into the loyalty programs unless they’re making high-frequency purchases like food from those merchants.

Instead, PYMNTS’ research found that customers often want more of a flexible way to earn rewards. Those kinds of rewards programs have to offer frictionless rewards and dispute protections, along with zero-liability fraud and security assurances.